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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rule — a law
  12. kick — in football
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. content — happy
  16. bark — to shout
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — obliged
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. content — the amount
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com